Tom Kragt

35 years ago I was riding in a car with two friends after a Sunday evening service at our church. All three of us were sports junkies and self proclaimed experts on any competitive event. On this Sunday night for some reason our conversation turned to running the Boston Marathon. All three of us made a promise to each other that we would run Boston. Well, my friend Bill actually took that commitment seriously. Bill has become a very good runner, and has long since qualified for and run Boston along with several other marathons. Every time I run into Bill, which isn’t often, he really enjoys reminding me of the promise I made 35 years ago.

As the years have passed, I pretty much resigned myself to the reality that Boston would not be in the cards for me. Six years ago my perspective on running began to change. My son, Tim, and friend, Howard Van Mersbergen convinced me to run the Fifth/Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, MI. The 5/3 is a great event, which has grown into the largest 25K in the world! Greg Myer, who is the last American to win at Boston, is the founder and still a major player in making it a great event for runners and fans. After having completed 6 years of the River Bank Run, Howard informed me it was time to fulfill an old promise and run Boston.

Running Boston, which is TheMarathon, is a dream come true. Howard’s encouragement and help in training has been huge. Tim’s helpful motivation, chastisement, and support are really cool. The members of Team EGM who run the 5/3 River Bank Run in Grand Rapids always inspire me.

The really important part of runningBoston for me is the opportunity to use this event to raise money for the Steps Foundation with Ryan and Sara Hall. Ryan is America’s best marathon runner and a man of strong faith. Running for the Steps Foundation makes the effort in training a great service opportunity. Through Steps, Ryan and Sarah have a big vision to alleviate poverty and bring healing to God's world. Please join me in donating generously to the Steps Foundation. For more information go to www.thestepsfoundation.org.

TomKragt

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